GUHSD: Governing Board Names Mike Fowler Superintendent Finalist

EL CAJON – The Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) Governing Board (Board) has named Mike Fowler as their finalist to replace retiring GUHSD Superintendent Mary Beth Kastan. The Board is expected to approve an offer of employment to Mr. Fowler at its regularly scheduled meeting on May 9. Once officially approved, he will assume his duties as Superintendent when the new school year begins on July 1, 2024.

Mr. Fowler has dedicated 28 years of service to the students, families, and staff of GUHSD. He currently serves as Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services and oversees all aspects of GUHSD’s educational program including curriculum, assessment, career technical education, instructional practices and technology, student support and discipline, special education, adult education, athletics, and extracurricular programs.

Mr. Fowler’s career in education began as an English, Accounting, Entrepreneurship, and Computer Applications teacher at Helix High School. He then served as GUHSD’s Applied Learning Curriculum Specialist and then as an Assistant Principal at Granite Hills and El Capitan High Schools before being named Principal at Granite Hills in 2013. As Principal, Mr. Fowler strengthened Granite Hills’s reputation as an academic powerhouse by earning a California Distinguished School recognition, a ranking among U.S. News and World Report’s “Best American High Schools,” and a spot on the Washington Post’s list of “Most Challenging High Schools.”

“Mike Fowler’s proven track record of outstanding instructional leadership, both as Principal of our largest high school and as Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, made him the clear choice to lead our District forward as we work to set a new standard for high-quality educational programs,” said GUHSD Board President Rob Shield. “Further, Mr. Fowler is widely-known as a deeply caring person, and his fierce and unwavering commitment to providing every student with a path to success is evident in any conversation with him. That is why he stood out among the field of highly-qualified candidates and why we know we have made the right choice for the students, families, and staff of our District,”  Shield added.

“To be selected as the Superintendent finalist for a District whose families and staff I have come to know so well over 28 years is both a tremendous honor and a humbling responsibility,” Fowler said. “I’m grateful for the trust that our Governing Board has placed in me to lead our over-3,000 caring staff members whose dedication to empowering each of our students to build the best future is unyielding,” Fowler added.

Mr. Fowler graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and initially went into banking. After five years, however, Mr. Fowler chose to pursue a career in education, which he believed to be his true calling. He then returned to SDSU to earn his teaching credential. He later earned a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and his Administrative Services credential from SDSU. Mr. Fowler is married to Maria Vidal-Fowler, a 22-year Army veteran who deployed to Iraq and now serves as Principal of Silver Gate Elementary School in San Diego.

Leadership Associates’ search for GUHSD’s next Superintendent included a robust community outreach effort that included 40 input-gathering meetings with GUHSD employees and community leaders and a community-wide survey in which 1,886 respondents participated.

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